Tapas Café Duende

We’ve been traveling Europe for the past two weeks (France and Italy before this) and this is by far the best restaurant we’ve been too! The staff, especially the owner, are extremely friendly and welcoming. The prices were cheap in my opinion and the food… holy cow! Definitely a must try!

I have been here twice now. The food is delicious and the prices are great. I like the atmosphere, it is very lively and if you like music this is definitely the place to go to. Only thing that bothers me is the absolutely slow service. It is very hard to get the attention of the waiters. Both times we had felt like getting some coffee after eating but because we had to wait 15+ minutes after being done eating to get attention we decided to just get the check.
I would go there again but not in the near future, it is very tiresome to wait that long for service.

Tucked away in a quiet neighborhood in Jordaan with many excellent restaurants, Café Duende holds its own with authentic home made delicious tapas. The atmosphere is laid back, as are the folks working there. Ordered my usual favorites, bacon wrapped dates, potato tortilla, aged manchego and Serrano ham, mushrooms in garlic olive oil, Catalan roasted vegetable blend and meatballs in a home made tomato sauce. A nice Spanish draught beer washed it all down nicely! It all came quickly and with a smile!

Das Tapas Café Duende ist wirklich ein Muss wenn man im Jordaan Viertel unterwegs ist. Die Tapas, die serviert werden liegen alle zwischen 3 – 8 € und sind echt der Hammer. Besonders zu empfehlen sind die Sardinas vom Grill. Wenn man sich nicht entscheiden kann oder will gibt es auch «die 7 vom Haus».

Looking for tapas in Amsterdam, we found them. Really good. Wine is good try the house red. Three of shared many plates and can say we loved them all.

I am definitely a fan. Duende is located in a great local neighborhood. They were very busy on the Friday we stopped in but still found us a cute little table. The wine and food were delicious. Cozy atmosphere.

Ever since a trip to Barcelona this year I have turned into one of those obnoxious people obsessed with finding «authentic» food like I had on my trip. Well glad to say this place did it!
First I will say this place as a bit of a pain in the arse to find given we didn’t know the area, its off the main roads and the sign is covered some. BUT once we found it, we stepped into a lovely space, with cozy table, great tiles up on the walls, little twinkle lights… generally a great atmosphere for a dinner with friends.
We started with Sangria which was very dry and not as sweet and fruity as most places. At first this was a bit of let down for us, but once we began to eat it was clear the sangria complemented the food much more than the usual stuff.
Dishes we had:
Fried chorizo (super good, nicely browned, large portion)
Ham croquettas (okay)
Bread with aioli (the aioli was really good)
Sweet peppers (basically bell peppers in oil and garlic, nice, not amazing)
Mixed starter of olives, cheese and sausage (nice variety)
Wish there had been more than 2 of us so we could have tried a few more dishes. Worth the walk in the rain!

Duende is better than Spain.
That is correct, I consider Duende better than the cuisine I had in Seville just two months ago and the sangria is very tasty. Prepare to not make too many friends after dinner however as the garlic is intense, but the garlic is a necessity as the Duende staff drive the flavors and aromas of true Spanish cuisine into every dish.
I don’t review restaurants I do not like, well sometimes, and rarely do I give 5 stars. Duende is a 4 star until I have some more variation.
The environment, food and the staff keep you coming back, but a bit of change in the menu could make you live there.

I tried some more new dishes here and thought it would be good to share reviews on that as well.
So, fried calamari — still as good.
Toasted bread with tomatoes, garlic and ham — REALLY GOOD… I didnt think it would be as good but it was surprisingly good…
Sardines — not too fishy, just right
Sausage in spicy sauce — tangy and lovely…
I’m definitely going back to try something new soon…